


The Kingdom of the Stepstones

by Avery_Fontaine



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Rhaegar won, Blood, Divorce, Dorne, Drunk Robert, F/M, King Jon Snow, Marriage, Napoleonic Wars, Rhaegar Lives, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-07 06:48:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13429134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avery_Fontaine/pseuds/Avery_Fontaine
Summary: Jon Snow was born a bastard of a King. Yet he was never meant for a bastard's life, for he was the blood of Daemon, the spirit of Daeron.He would be a conqueror.This is a "history," a treatise from the pov of a maester.





	1. Chapter 1

I, Darin, Maester in service to House Tarth on the island of Tarth, do declare the commencement of a study of mine into the recent momentous events that have occurred in the last several moons.

The events are no doubt on everyone’s minds, from the Summer Isles to Beyond the Wall, and certainly within the Red Keep.

As Lord Selwyn’s heir is mature and no longer in need of instruction, he has allowed me to dedicate my time to studying the events as they unfold, and to elucidate their causes.

My brethren within our order should recall that my original intent had been to write a treatise on House Justman, the extinct house of the Riverlands that once ruled as Kings. However, after reading the first several letters of Archmaester Perestan, I decided to refocus my work to more modern occurrences.

The Archmaester affirmed that Jon Snow, the bastard of Lyanna Stark and King Rhaegar, was nothing more than an upstart ingrate, a bloody killer and lecher, a little boy jealous of his favored princely brother, and one likely spurned in his advances of his half-sister. It is my duty as a scholar and a lover of truth to dispel such ideas. Given my proximity to the Stepstones, and how frequently traders from Dorne, the Free Cities, and King’s Landing visit the islands, I believe I am in the appropriate position to give an informed view on the newly declared ruler of the Narrow Sea, and his consort.

To begin, though, without a proper introduction to how this all started, would be a foolish endeavor, preventing one from recognizing the drive of a man who has been called both the Liberator and the Beast of the Sea. I shall commence my study in a series of papers listing the conditions of Jon Snow’s birth and upbringing, before I explain how he has affected the Crown and the realm as a whole.

 

Jon Snow was born to Lyanna Stark after she met with the Prince Rhaegar at the tourney at Harrenhal. The King, as many young lords, was more than willing to enjoy the benefits of his station. One could hardly blame him, given how frequently many of his peers engaged themselves. Lyanna Stark was, and remains, a fine and proper woman, and a fair conquest for any great lord or king. Given her lineage, some said that the Prince wanted to fulfil the pact of Ice and Fire, but it is more likely that the two of them engaged in a young lover’s fest.

It is said that, after learning of the relationship, Lord Rickard wanted to cut off Rhaegar’s head, and if he were not the prince, he might have done so. Rhaegar had been married to Queen Elia almost four years prior, and already had children, so his father’s name was secured. The realm got past the scandal quite quickly, and Jon was born in 283 AC in the time of the False Spring.

He was raised by his mother at Winterfell for his first eleven years. It is to be assumed that he got along with Lord Stark’s children, given that there have been no word of any tension between them. Lyanna, however, is rumored to have frequented King Rhaegar’s company throughout the years. While unconfirmed, the two do have an amiable relationship. At Rhaegar’s insistence, Jon was well provided for, and brought to King’s Landing to foster. There he met his true-born siblings.

It is at this point that the bastard prince probably recognized what his name meant. It is unknown how Queen Elia treated Lyanna’s bastard, but at the Keep Jon saw lord upon lord look down upon him and call him bastard. Maester Pycelle had written that, around his age of two-and-ten, Jon Snow had all but locked himself away in his rooms.

I am postulating that the young bastard prince took this time to formulate his identity. He was not going to be King of the Seven Kingdoms, or take the Lordship of Winterfell. A single letter recovered by Maester Aemon shows that Jon had considered joining the Night’s Watch. There was never any other word of this. He probably attempted to join in secret, but gave up the idea for unknown reasons.

 _“He read The Conquest of Dorne far too often, and without recognizing it as an inaccurate propaganda piece. Like all stupid and suicidal lads he has taken Daeron’s brags for true fact”_ writes Archmaester Perestan. This statement requires a level of superficiality that I haven’t the time to explain. Jon Snow certainly read Daeron’s book. It would be foolish to assume that any educated boy has not. And to say that he thought of Daeron while going about his conquest is out of the question.

However, given how differently Jon has gone about his work shows a level of intelligence and recognition beyond that of Daeron’s drivel. He has been educated, and taken his time, as strange as it is to say.

He read often in his youth. Like his father, he was a rather quiet young man, known for engaging in fighting and swordplay only when it appeared honorable and memorable to him. He is not a brute. There is a mark of self-reflection, of self-judgement, in all of his actions. He did not fight recklessly, out of anger, but rather when the circumstance seemed appropriate, as if history would laud him for it, as if the songs would sing of it. One can assume that he and his brother sparred when he was four-and-ten.

The Archmaester and I are in agreement, though, about how Jon Snow behaved as soon as he left the Keep. It is almost public knowledge. Cersei Lannister had openly mocked the bastard prince at court, driving him into a fit of rage and causing him to threaten to sully her and her daughter, Myrcella. Given his age, it was likely a hormonal rant without any merit. But it drove Tywin Lannister to push for the King to send him to the Wall.

King Rhaegar, in his wisdom, instead sent his son to the Vale, where he might be quiet and unimpactful. Lord Arryn, though, never was able to tame the bastard of Rhaegar. Jon was fond of making allies with mountain clans, spending most time in the forests. Lord Robert has joked more than once that a bastard bedded his own bastard girl in the Vale. Mayhaps feeling independent, he all but left his prison-home at the age of five-and-ten.

Jon Snow disappeared for a time, to the joy of many at the Red Keep, embarrassed at his antics. Lyanna Stark openly demanded Rhaegar find him. But her son appeared at Winterfell within the next few moons.

Some assumed he would be satisfied with the home of his ancestors, where he might know non-royal family and serve as a master-of-arms, where he could venture down into the crypts as see the statues of the Winter Kings. Yet I have a theory: It was at Winterfell where he developed his desire to conquer. He was born with the look of a Stark, and he was raised around them, in a castle larger than the Red Keep. He would never ride a dragon, even if they still existed. However, the Kings of Winter did not need dragons. Like him, they only had their wits and their swords. Jon Snow always saw himself more as a wolf than a dragon. Venturing into the crypts, seeing great men in his form, conquerors and rulers, probably sparked his ambitions.

After the attacks of several raider bands in the South, he and his male cousins went to rid the land of them. The thieves and killers promptly went farther south. While the North was safe, he voluntarily went down to deal with the marauders.

It gave him a good name, and an emblazoned his reputation. He was no longer the rebellious bastard, but a heroic vigilante. He met many of his future generals at this point, including the infamous Bron [sic]. He was so well loved that King Rhaegar gave a dozen knights to help him on his task.

After most of the marauders were killed in the Riverlands, Jon was brought to King’s Landing to receive his rewards. He was paired with Roslyn Frey, a noble girl, and prettier than most. Jon’s decision to forego the wedding, however, is what ended his good standing with the King. Some say that it was Lyanna in fact that prevented her son from marrying anyone not of the North, and other have guessed that Old Lord Frey himself was at fault, after insulting his potential son upon first meeting him.

Nevertheless, it was too much for the patient King. Jon was sent to Braavos to remain and stay out of trouble. He was seven-and-ten.

It is there that Jon Snow decided to venture to the Narrow Sea. He found himself in Norvos, meeting a fellow Westerosi, Princess Arianne Nymeros Martell.

The Princess’s mother lives in Norvos, so she likely wanted to meet her. There with Jon Snow, they two quickly found themselves enraptured by each other. Her reputation as a temptress is well known, and I am not one to dispute it. She wears next to nothing but revealing, almost see-through silks, a form of wear too much for even the Dornish. She is a full-hipped, thin-waisted, thick-thighed, large-breasted, dark-eyed, dark-haired, dark-skinned, dark-tipped beauty, is what the sailors say. That she enticed him was without question. I do dispute, though, with Archmaester Theobald, that she is a “ _seductress, floosy who convinced him to conquer by spreading her legs,”_ as he put.

Princess Arianne is not the heir to Dorne, and as the second child, likely fell under less scrutiny, and simply was not taught to behave decently. She was older than him at the time, an older two-and-twenty. And she had a true-born name, a kingdom, and seven fighting bastards on her side. That Jon took to her was no more as result of seduction than an act of practicality.

On Norvos, and at Dorne, Jon Snow plotted his conquest. With a willing young lover, thrilled at having a dangerous boy around her arms, Jon is said to have spent many an hour up reading, going over manuals, contacting merchants, studying trade routes, reading histories, going over strategies, and writing to many of his closest allies.

He invited many of them, the so-called _band of eight_ , for a night at Tyrosh. Aegon Blackfyre, Bron, Asha Greyjoy, Obara Sand, Nymeria Sand, Harry Strickland, Salladhor Saan, and Aurane Waters. They met in secret, without a curious ear present. One wonders what they spoke of: of who would get which island, who would fight first, who brought coin, what laws they wanted, what they would do in case of a war, in case of the crown. I wonder if they questioned why a bastard was calling the shots, with only a plan and some connections to speak of.

Nevertheless, their plans were made. And the Conquest began.

Going over the numbers and strategies employed, I am shocked and baffled. Jon was likely equally surprised, given how easily many of the islands fell.

Only ten to twenty thousand people frequented the islands. Few could say who actually lived there. Only five thousand hired men guarded the islands.

They were not fortified in any sense of the word. Why no one thought to conquer such lands so near to Dorne suddenly baffled me. Most the islands hadn’t names. Only pirates and slavers held them, and every kingdom and city would have preferred them cleared, for safe trading. It was a place ripe for conquest.

Then I realized that, surely Daemon knew. Surely this is the reason why Daemon Targaryen took the Stepstones so long ago. And why Maelys did as well. Many have conquered them. They were always easy to conquer. The only problem has been holding them.

On the first day of the 302 year since Aegon’s Conquest, Jon Snow began his own. The March on Sandsnake Isle, as it has been called, commenced. The Sandsnakes, bastard of Prince Oberyn Martell, took the lead and drove off every enemy. Given that the island was mostly a desert, with only few oases, it is not surprising. It was almost barren.

The Kingdoms were mostly confused as to why a few bastards wanted a desert island. No one thought to question it.

However, the March was just the start.

With three thousand men, twenty Iron Born Longships, ten Velaryon gallies, and thirty trading vessels, fitted with oars and trebuchets, Jon took to the heart of the Stepstones: Bloodstone. It was where Daemon had seated his kingdom centuries ago, and where Jon would cement his claim. Setting off from Dorne, the ships landed at the large island. A massive fight occurred, in which two thousand men circled the island.

They were outnumbered two to one, but well informed, and fighting cowards. Jon intentionally left open one spot where the pirate slavers could escape the encircling army. They took it and attempted to flee, unaware that near the island were a thousand more men, a dozen flinging fireballs.

Tywin Lannister engaged in the Battle of Bloodstone during the War of the Ninepenny Kings. Jon started the Second Battle.

The battle raged for three days, and involved killing any who bore a sword or lance against them. Most of the time after the initial battle was spent hunting down enemies hiding in the forests of the islands.

By this time, Jon’s name had made word to the other islands. To gain a greater advantage, he set out to meet any potential enemies head on, leaving behind a force of a thousand men on constant guard (only a few hundred died in the battle).

What he found were pirates fleeing to wherever they could, abandoning the islands and many of their slaves. However, they could not go north near bloodstone, so many went South, or to the Disputed Lands. Jon took a policy of leaving no enemies alive, so a contingent with many ships drove as many escapees from Bloodstone to the Blacksands.

It was their graveyard. For the Golden Company was fighting their at the moment (on a contract likely put out by Jon Snow), and so the slavers found themselves trapped between them and their enemies. They were all hunted down and put to the sword on the Blacksands. Every would-be king, every master of the islands, every slaver, every claimant to Maelys crown was dead.

It took not six moons to master the Northern and most populous islands. Jon, thereafter, sailed to Bloodstone, where he declared himself King of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea. Arianne put the crown on his head. Some say the crown is a dead and blackened weirwood, spiked and fit only for the Wolf King of the Islands. He renamed the island Wolfstone, and attached gave islands to his compatriots. Asha received the small but useful trade-port island in the middle, which she named Seasnake. The Sandsnakes got the island easternmost, named Sandsnake. The smallest island, the Mast, was given to a lower lieutenant whose name is still unknown. Black Dragon went to a so-called descendent to Daemon Blackfyre, via the ineffectual female line, Bron received an island he called Bronson, in devotion to a child he had had with one of the island’s former slaves, Steadfast went to Strickland, and I am still uncertain who got New Paps, or why it is called that.

One cannot deny the achievement it is that there is a new King of the Narrow Sea, a bastard that went from a rebellious lad to a conqueror, with only a force of three thousand.

What Perestan and many other of our brethren have misunderstood is that it was not jealously for the Prince but a true spirit in the vein of Aegon that commands his mind. The realm is shocked and impressed by the new King, and they rightly should be. Prince Doran wrote to the King that he had no influence over his daughter, and that the new Kingdom was independent. Lord Robert has made no qualms cursing and praising the actions of the bastard. Lord Tywin is said to have offered removing Jon from the islands. Lord Monford Velaryon has lost his position as Master of Ships due to his brother’s actions. The Free Cities are afraid and uncertain. Tyrosh now has a legion of ships near them, and Lys can no longer freely move slaves between the islands. Some say that an triarch of Volantis has invited Jon and Arianne to his city. Almost everyone has given their opinion about it all, except for Lyanna Stark.

One cannot be sure what will occur in the future, but I shall be ready to document it. I recently read a message from the King, demanding that Jon return to King’s Landing.


	2. Chapter 2

What is known about The King’s meeting with his son, the declared King of the Stepstones, is that Rhaegar allowed it.

Word has it that Jon was calm and clear in his meeting, reasoning that he brought safe trade ports, and had no desire to take his brother’s place.

In the meantime, what occurred in the Stepstones has been called Arianne’s Conquest. It is unlikely that the Princess had any important part to the conquest. The two battles had been sea battles, where most of the ships were left to the former-pirate Salladhor Saan. The three remaining islands were taken and named Nymethos, Saanland, and Paradise, with two smaller islands named and occupied.

Jon Snow had not given permission to his lover to follow through on this without her, and is said to have beat her open handed. Nevertheless, she happily came back under him.

After a successful meeting, King Jon requested a meeting with the magisters of the Free Cities. It is said that he spoke curtly, and more than once reminded the lords that the King of Westeros had given him credence. Thereafter, for a foregoing of tarrifs, Myr gave him what he requested: lense makers, a curiosity. Lys and Tyrosh remained unwilling to deal with him, and negotiations did not go well.

They questioned his right, his status and his intelligence. So Jon decided that their tariffs would be the highest. Volantis invited he and Arianne to their city, where the triarchs asked him about his intention. It seems they cared for one thing. Had Jon come to end slavery? The Volantenes were insistent on keeping the practice going, making it a requirement for talks.

 Jon, though, simply agreed it would continue and thereafter received gifts from the triarchs in the form of gold and heaps of black stone. Back on Wolfstone, he had declared the laws of the King of the Narrow Sea: slavery was illegal beyond one year, and any man who chose to take a slave for sexual purposes must make her a wife. This is turn led him to allow divorce for the woman. It was a clever trick.

Nobles and travelers from the Free Cities all visited, giving gifts, and negotiating tariffs. The Iron Bank gave the new Kingdom a loan of a million dragons, with which he hired thousands of guards, who swore their lives in service to the new Kingdom, and sent out to Naath to gather a thousand stones of silk worms, and hundreds of builders from Lorath.

It was an oddity to all of us in the Kingdom, until the year passed, and Jon had paid off the entirety of the loan. With the builders, he had constructed permanent docks and castles to house men, with the former slaves he had made silk manufacturers, and with guards he all but secured the Kingdom of the Narrow Sea as the trade center of the world.

It was said that he requested several dozens little Valyrian lemurs from Qohor, to entertain his guests. And that he had taken from Myr its original greatest trade of lense crafting. Thus did the Three Whores become dependent on his kingdom yet again.

It is now the year of 304. Whether the aspiring Kingdom shall last, remains to be seen. Jon Snow is set to marry Arianne in a moon’s time.

  



	3. Chapter 3

To the keepers of the library of the Citadel, please thank the Acolyte Alleras for sending me several books to aid in my examination of the environments of Dorne and the Stepstones. After reading many of your responses to my writings I have been able to correct some of the suppositions I held and discount many of the rumors that I have been told.

The first being that the Eastermost Island of the Kingdom of the Stepstones is a desert island; it is in fact only a desert in its surroundings, and it does in fact hold a considerable forest within it. I have also learned that some of the names and events that occurred were not told to me without confusion. Finally, I have benefitted from additional information these past several moons which has illuminated many of the mysteries surrounding the early days of Jon Snow’s war.

The smallest island in the East is not the Mast, as many sailors had said. But it is in fact called °The Maid°, and it had been called so for centuries. The descendants of Nymeria’s Thousand Ships inhabited many of the islands, with most living on that particular island. I am still unsure of the history of New Paps. I theorize that a descendant of House Elesham named and rules the island. Whale Island is frequented by many Ibbenese, but most reports explicitly detail a Westerosi ruler of the island. I have heard a Manderly or even mayhaps a Skagosi inhabit the land, and some claim them descendants of slaves captured centuries ago. Black Dragon is claimed by the alleged descendant of Daemon Blackfyre. Whether the Sword Blackfyre is on the island is unknown. Steadfast, interestingly, is held by the now prominent House Strickland. And claimants to House Cole have relocated on the island of Steelheart. The histories will certainly be complicated, given how many of the Golden Company change their names. Luckily, however, the new King has set in motion a clever plan to end any confusion. I shall discuss more about that soon.

The known pirate clan Saan has gained an entire island for its role in the war. The trade port of Lyson, on what I can only call the Island of Lyson, is the primary port of Lysene traders, for a majority of Valyrian bloods live on that particular island. Paradise, a poorly named island, was given to a ruler whose name is lost to me, for he and three to four of his successors died from a once-unknown sickness.

Wolfstone serves as the primary station for trade and legislation for the Kingdom. It is the King’s capital. Nymethos, to the South, was given to his wife, Arianne Martell. Both islands function as the primary territories of the monarchs.

Given the extremity, seriousness, and fascinating nature of the events of late, it is natural that one would want to learn what was happened recently to the Kingdom. But I ask the reader to wait and spare this old maester the time to explain how the governance of the Kingdom has influenced not only the events that have occurred, but given a great insight into the true genius of Conquering King.

The organization and speedy growth of the Kingdom is undeniable. From King’s Landing to Oldtown, from Braavos to the Summer Isles, and certainly in the Triarchy, among the people and rulers there is a fear and fascination with the organized nature of the Kingdom. This could only be due to the King’s clever planning and just judgement. I postulate the unique system of law was developed years before the conquest. It is encouraging, and partly terrifying, to imagine the young Jon Snow, in his chambers at the Red Keep, plotting the Kingdom he would soon have. Yet the magnificence of his accomplishments speak only to his brilliance.

After slavery was illegalized, all of the property of former slavers was given to the state, and every slaver arrested. And that includes the numerous trade ships for Lys and Tyrosh. The wealth of those slavers was put into feeding and paying the former slave population, and well as the King’s own army. Never one for begging for the appreciation of his men, Jon Snow directed that booty be handed out in parcels. The majority was kept for builders and smiths, who would create a stable foundation for the Kingdom.

To compensate for the lack of booty for the soldiers, the King instituted that any one who served in his army could receive the gifts of former prostitutes, for a significantly smaller price. It was a clever plow, gained from the realization that most of their coin would go to women anyway.

After instituting the first of the major laws, most of which included the basic tenants of liberty, taxes, and religious freedom, the King convened a council of the major leaders of his campaign, and of the natives. There he designated to every man (and the occasional woman), the rules: everyone could control their island as they saw fit, from settling disputes and dealing with traders, and could even declare a single religion, so long as the ultimate authority was given to the King, they provided a sixth of their population for military service, and paid a considerable amount in taxes. What the Lords of Westeros are vassals to the King, the governors of the islands are to Jon Snow.

He did, however, stipulate that an island building a singular military force greater than the amount of men they gave to the crown was a general offense.

At the beginning of the Kingdom, there was the issue of a small, uneducated population of slaves. So, to incentivize colonization, the King sent word to the Seven Kingdoms that the Kingdom of the Stepstones was a land of opportunity, where any second son or bastard can take a lordship, gain one or three wives from beautiful Valyrian girls, and even make their own name. His plan worked.

Most who arrived were bastards and smallfolk from the Stormlands. Even here at Tarth, I have found two serving boys packing their bags, preparing to depart and find themselves pretty wives. While admittedly a gamble, for most would not find fortune in their new land and surely curse the king, Jon accomplished in populating the islands, bringing the population from around fifteen thousand, to nearly forty thousand, if current reports are to be believed.

There was also the mass migration of Ironborn under the watch of Asha Greyjoy. It has been said that the King applied considerable laws on Seasnake, and was repetitiously harsh with the governess of the island. One could hardly blame him. One might even praise him for it. I am aware that many of my brethren considered the employment of Ironborn raiders in the war as justification for the denunciation of the King. Word that he is harsh with her only gives credence to his being a just king.

The slave ships sailing through the Stepstones at the time of the conquest were liberated, its passengers given freedom, a home, and a goal. Indeed, while many of the woman were required to marry ambitious colonists, they enjoy considerably more joy and freedom than they ever have before.

Once aware of these events, Tyrosh and Lys both sent magisters to Wolfstone to treat with the King. However, upon learning of their goal to reacquire their human property, they were turned away. A common tail in the kingdoms is that the King asked how much it would cost to buy the lost slaves. They answered, and he then asked them how much it would cost to by a magister from Lys. The Lyseni were furious, and said their price was astronomically high for a magister. He said the same to the Tyroshi, and received the same response. Then the King replied that if they wanted their slaves back, they would have to buy the great price for their magisters, for he could not see a difference between a slave and those that stood in front of him. Words of a great man, no doubt.

Mayhaps the most fundamental and important initiative of the King is the construction of cement and brick structures. Many sailors reported that Jon Snow was very particular is forbidding wood buildings on his islands, or those of his governors. Builders from Lorath, and several from Braavos, aided in the construction of large fortresses about the islands. They are not for living, it seems, but rather for defense. Like Moat Cailin exists in the North, these fortresses exist at the Stepstones.

Large quantities of black stone, the odd, oily substance given to the King by Volantis, have been formed into the walls of his main castle. Still rather small, the castle has an inner sanctum, in which the King lives, and a larger, taller outside sanctum which is currently under construction. Reports note that the size of the castle would be larger than the Red Keep, once it is completed.

On Nymeros, the Queen has set various Rhoynar stoneworkers to constructing her own keep, one smaller and likely less impressive. Which is to be expected.

Other smaller Keeps have been under construction, or have been completed, which traders say include a decent sized castle on Seasnake and a castle with a draw-bridge on Black Dragon.

To address the question of houses and nobility among the exiles of the Golden Company. Naturally it posed a problem if any claimant to a dead house could suddenly revive it in the Stepstones, especially if they took the name without being related. Thus the King mandated that all who took the name of a Westerosi house and wished to use it, either had to prove their lineage or change their sigil and words, so as not to confuse them for true-blooded descendants. Thus the new house Cole on Steadfast has a sigil of red pellets on a black background, instead of the proper black pellets on red.

Bringing wildlife to the islands is an accomplishment I hope is not forgotten, so I shall detail it quickly. Dozens of Aurochs, asses, horses, falcons, dogs, cats, and vultures, as well as berries, apple trees, lemon trees, and nutritious grasses were brought to Wolfstone, along with ravens. This single act alone will likely secure the kingdom, for now it has a steady source of food and service animals. Detailing this now makes one consider that every single king before failed simply due to a lack of wildlife on the islands.

The Little Valyrian lemurs that were brought to Wolfstone, unfortunately, bred extremely quickly and found their way into the forests. One may laugh knowing that part of Valyria is still conquering parts of the world.

Naturally my colleagues would at this point write me about how I intentionally left out the tragedy of Paradise. I have not forgotten it. It was simply an unfortunate, though brief, problem which has been speedily handled. The silk worms from Naath were brought to paradise, to turn the island into the premiere silk exporter. Unfortunately, a similar °Butterfly disease° which infects travelers on Naath infected the residents of Paradise. Many died, until all the silk worms were found, boiled or burned. The death toll was insignificant, despite what Maester Theobold has said.

More successful, though, was the stealing of the lense crafting arts from Myr. This very fact attests to the competence of the King. Once Myr was the grandest place for all lenses, looking-glasses and mirrors. Now they have a competitor in the form of the small island of Steelheart. I have tested lenses from Myr and Steelheart. I cannot find a difference between the two.

The most interesting events have occurred in the last several moons. I have been foregoing writing them not out of fear or desire to force a positive image on the new Kingdom, but because I simply know less about the events.

The wedding of Jon Snow to Arianne Martell occurred with controversy. They were to marry on Nymethos, as was her request. She wanted to engage in the bedding ceremony, while he did not want others to touch his bride. A few words from some high-born guests, who may have mentioned his bastard status, led him to remove their hands and take Arianne to Wolfstone. The more licentious say he beat her and left her covered with bruises on her neck and thighs (for she her regular dresses exposed much).

Yet, I am in doubt as to the veracity of this story, or at least how it has been told. First, the high-born guests were not Westerosi, but Essosi. Had they been from Westeros, the crown would have said something. Additionally, King Rhaegar has been known to be particularly defensive of his son, so it is unlikely any of his loyal people went against his wishes and insulted Jon.

Additionally, the reports of him beating his Queen are likely exaggerated. True, it is considered well-known how Arianne appeared the first few days after her wedding. But it is within the King’s rights to discipline his wife, especially one as licentious and impertinent as a Dornish woman. And other rumors say that their bed relationship have always involved a bit of thrashing. Thus I deny what Archmaester Perestan has called ° _A violent, torrid relationship founded on murder and perversity.°_

Indeed, war was threatened upon the high lords who lost their hands. But I and many of my brethren are aware that many in the world still consider Jon Snow a representative of the Seven Kingdoms. They would not dare harm Jon Snow, not without his father, the King, coming at his defense.

Thus a young conqueror at the age of nine-and-ten made a new Kingdom, and for almost three years has held it without considerable issue. Now, it seems, he has turned his focus away from rebuilding and securing the foundations of his Kingdom. He has called for a hundred maesters to teach people to read, including myself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you find this interesting, check out my other work about the Three Sisters http://archiveofourown.org/works/13602360

To my brethren, the humble maesters of the Citadel, the idea of a great man is often seen as propaganda, as a lie, a result of some liar and exaggerater trying to chance history and gain power. Thus we must endeavor to be as clear and critical as possible, as far as we are allowed, when we give any credit or laud any leader.

I begin this letter to make clear that I am aware how it might seem, how my words might be interpreted. I can only hope to explain as well as possible, and be willing to accept a part of the more critical perspectives in my own work. Yet, I am compelled to write of the wonders here.

Lord Tarth gave me leave seven moons ago to attend the court of Wolfstone, in the Kingdom of the Stepstones. Even in my few moons travel, word of the magnanimous events that occurred crossed my path. Ships upon ships of travelers spoke of the sacking of Myr.

What I learned from the travelers were tales of fires, giants, hours of raining arrows, and the magisters of Myr being dragged out of their homes by their very own slaves. But, naturally, such tales were not to be believed. It is far more reasonable to read the tolls from the maesters at the Stepstones. Given my assessment of the true numbers and facts, I believe my report will be the most accurate every reported to the Citadel.

Three years after the invasion of the island of Wolfstone, the one-and-twenty year old King Jon Snow invaded Myr. Some have called this an unprovoked attack, one based on a need to feed the so-called starving people of the Stepstones, and some have even said that the King’s Dark Queen whispered the idea in his ear, filling his head with ideas of glory. These are quite simply false. Myr, as it was, was a threatening, dangerous presence. At Black Dragon, an encrypted letter was captured. A clever former slave of the Stepstones, known simply as the Brilliant One, decoded the letter, revealing that Myr was planning on purchasing a mercenary clan to dismantle the southern kingdom, and enslave much of its population. There was also a consideration of turning the claimant Aegon Blackfyre against the King.

After the Blackfyres gave the letter to Jon, in a show of good faith, he decided to end the hostilities to the North. Myr was sacked by twenty thousand men, during the night. Slaves were freed in masses, encouraged to turn against their masters, and the gold reserves relocated. Many of the rebellious slaves, in a show of gratitude, and to save themselves, joined the King’s men and found new, free lives in the Stepstones.

It was a surprise attack. All of the main guards had been eliminated before the ships arrived, so no alarm bell could be rung. The boats also avoided ports, instead starting on the rocky abandoned shores. Once all the men were in place, the battle began. Fires were started, bridges destroyed, and misinformation sent to every enemy commander. This alone would attest to the genius military mind of the King, and the extreme dutiful, organized nature of his army. But I have greater examples in the latter part of my letter.

After putting many of the magisters to the sword, the cowardly lot of them, Jon had a respectable group of old and young men put in charge. Knowing how in love and possessed they were by their traditions, the King decided to be clever. They would run their city as they saw fit, but they had to provide a ten thousand Myrish carpets, seven thousand shipping crates of Myrish Fire herbs, and give over two hundred of the best lensecrafters to live permanently at the Stepstones. They would also be charged a minimum of a thousand gold pieces for using Stepstone ports.

Most the ships were Ironborn in form, though many of the soldiers were of diverse origin, despite what other reports you may read.

After the success at Myr, and the liberation of around five thousand people, the island Kingdom only grew. And if the magisters of Myr thought they could push around the new Kingdom in the future, they would see what would happen if they tried.

What occurred afterward remains in a mist of confusion and rumor. What is certain is that Asha Greyjoy became a problem for the king and questioned his leadership. Afterwards, many Ironborn men were rounded up, and Asha taken to court before the King. There he dictated the terms of his Kingship. Because none of his governors could have more power than him, he required that Asha kneel and forever promise to serve and attend his court every three moons.

The rambunctious Ironborn, I believe, found offense in not being allowed to raid and rape as they had before. They thought the slave girls and men they had taken as products of another raid, but Jon had them removed from Seasnake, and relocated them to the other islands. He made clear that no Ironborn would follow the Old Way if they wished to remain in his Kingdom. Allying with her men, or at the very least representing them, Asha questioned Jon, to a dangerous end.

Many of the Ironborn, it is said, were driven away and found the land too lawful, too just for them.

In the following moons, attacks from Lys and Tyrosh upon Wolftstone and Saan resulted in retribution. The attack on Wolfstone, at a time when Queen Arianne was on the island, threatened Jon personally. He went out and met the attackers with bravery, only for them to run off. He, however, likely remembering Theon Stark, followed them. Hundreds of ships went to the defensive. All of the islands were made to prepare for invasion, and ships traveled consistently, on watch for the first enemy to reach their waters.

The King sent three ships to Tyrosh; the men aboard were quick to cause damage but, as to be expected, were quickly captured or killed. Jon, though, had prepared for this. For he sent ships of prisoners.

He also had a letter sent intentionally with one of them, to be captured and read. The letter wrote of the kingdom’s apparent weakness, and of the inevitably of the end of the kingdom if he died. It was a request for all of his men to come to Wolfstone to protect him, and a plea for many more to return (it was suggested that the Stepstones were being abandoned). The letter intentionally included the line that King Rhaegar would not protect the Stepstones if his son did not survive the war that raged.

Seeing this, the archon of Tyrosh sent thousands of men to Wolfstone, in hopes of killing Jon and ending what he started. They were met with an island completely protected and guards on every corner of his half-completed castle. They believed most of the remaining Stepstone men were on the island.

A long siege would not work, for if Jon survived for too long, the King of Westeros might send aid. So they attacked with all their might. They did all they could to break the castle. But the castle was made of the dreaded, unbreakable blackstone. And Jon had archers atop the castle.

For weeks the campaign lasted. All attempts were made to break the inner castle, for the unfinished outer hold had been taken. But the men of the Stepstones carried on, firing arrow upon arrow, dropping stone upon stone, killing everyone that ventured too close. A Tyroshi noble imprisoned on Wolfstone has told me that he and many others wished to leave during the siege. They had lost too many men, and would need to regroup. The archon, however, had heard word that Jon wanted to sail personally to Tyrosh, kidnap the archon’s daughters, and take them away to make them his slaves. Whether the King said anything of the sort is unlikely, yet the archon, in his power and determination, found it necessary to press on. Rather than retreating, he called for more Tyroshi ships, more men, to try to break the blackstone walls. It was only when his men had enough of his madness that they overthrew him, and sailed back to Tyrosh.

But again, the enemies of King Jon were too slow-witted for him, for as soon as they loaded onto their ships to go home, they found hundreds of ships surrounding them. The siege was a trick to make them lose more than half their men, and make them tired, hungry, and weak. Jon was never even on Wolfstone, but was gathering his forces, waiting for the Tyroshi to take to the sea. The battle was swift, and Tyrosh was sacked in the following days. Ten thousand slaves were freed, and a new loyal archon appointed by King Jon.

The first terms of the surrender were drawn up, and involved Tyrosh paying for the lost men and coin the Kingdom of the Stepstones faced. Seeing such a hefty debt, the mercantile Tyroshi pleaded for anything else. So Jon asked that the island to their east would be given to him, as his privately-owned territory, and he would be provided with enough clay and stone as his men desired from the Tyroshi mountains. They agreed to the terms with zeal.

Jon named the island Far Isle, and ordered that much of the construction material gained in the sacking be sent there. Far Isle was given so readily, so easily, because it was nothing. It was a backwards, almost barren land, with few farms and mostly sand and rocks. They probably expected him to abandon it, finding no use in it.

However, Far Isle quickly became the capstone to his Kindom. Builders from Lorath and those experienced at Black Dragon went to build, put up walls and forts, and four thousand men were sent there to man the forts. Far Isle was now the military headquarters of the Kingdom, an island right next to Tyrosh.

The gambit worked, and Tyrosh kept its head down.

Lys had a less direct issue with its northern neighbor. In fact, from what near everyone has agreed, it was the Saan family, on the island of Saan, that got itself involved in a trade dispute with many Lysene traders. Some have suggested that Salladhor Saan wished to procure all the slave ships, for slavery was illegal on their island. Other believe that a Lysene magister insulted the Saan family for being rogue and capitulating to a bastard Valyrian. I personally theorize that the former pirate simply spoke out of turn.

Nevertheless, a few ships were burnt and men killed. Lys, in response, threatened war upon the Stepstones. Saan, and with Arianne by him, simply traveled to Lys, sacked the city, and left. A few thousand slaves were freed, and distributed about the islands.

Some found such an attack unprovoked, hostile even. Archmaester Perestan even writes that “ _The bloody, savage and unprovoked attack on Lys the Lovely is unquestionably the cruelest act committed by the… King, who did so only to terrorize and steal slave g-“_ and he goes on. The honorable Archmaester forgets that King Jon had little to do with the attacks.

If they had been sanctioned, they would likely have been more just, as well as organized and effective. It was not a war, nor a proclaimed issue between independent states, but a misunderstanding between underlings. Additionally, the Archmaester puts too much focus on the bloody aspects of the sacking, than the political results of it.

Myr, Tyrosh, and Lys had been humiliated, and effectually defeated. King Jon Snow had create a new power in the Narrow Sea, and all before he was two-and-twenty.

 

My arrival on Wolfstone was after most of the difficult, violent times. I arrived at an island of movement. Everywhere I went, I saw people, animals, and soldiers, going about their jobs with determination and focus. They did not laze or wonder what they were doing. They knew they were building a kingdom.

What I can describe as Wolfstone could best be matched as something resembling Lannisport, a place where numbers of people go about their jobs, many live in small homes near the water, while the large keep is in the background, looming.

I gathered with a handle of maesters, for only few of us chose to come given the recent wars. We were routed to the inner keep, which soared above my head like the Sept of Baelor. We walked through the unfinished outer hold, which had holes and men at work, pouring concrete and laying stones. By my estimation, if it finished, it would be at least as tall as the Red Keep, if not a few stories taller.

The men wore a variety of clothing, from Essosi to Dornish to the kind boys wear in their youth, colorful and gay. Women strolled about, themselves at work, carrying water and gardening.

After walking through the outer hold, we were met with the smaller, but still immense, inner hold. The walls were a deep blackstone, hard and unforgiving. It was in the form of some strange geometry, in which an upper floor, usually belonging to an archer’s nest, was roofed off, with another archer’s nest put on top. At last I finally saw him, the King of the Narrow Sea.

He was speaking with a bearded man, who appeared like a Lorath builder, until he was notified of our presence. He approached us, and our gaze was fixed on him. He was tall, strong, youthful, with a face of hard lines, deep-set eyes, and lips that never smiled. His dark was somewhat short, barely reaching his lower neck and he wore a set of boiled leather armour. I also saw his crown, a black, twisted thing, appearing to be a carved wood twisted around a metal band. It was likely a weirwood, as the rumors have said.

“Men,” the King said to us, “You have come here despite the dangers and despite your colleagues requests that you avoid this place. For this you shall be greatly rewarded.”

He then turned away, off to do something else that called for his attention.

The northern effect in his accent was clear, but he spoke like a Stormlander, quick and simply, with no need for fancy. It was after this that we were directed to create a modest teaching system for many of the nobels on the islands. They had not a Citadel, so King Jon wanted to bring the Citadel to them.

So we went about our task. Meanwhile, though, I took in the marvel of the city. For this town was once a place for madmen and slavers, but now remained the hall of its first true conqueror in history, the first to land and stay.

I continued reading reports and hearing what gossip I could, all while noticing each day the growth of the city. Marble, it seems, is the King’s preferred building material. I was heard him speak of how he despises how wood burns, and that his Kingdom should not burn but remain forever like marble. Thus the palace and most quarters are made of stone. Travelers tell me that this order was sent to the other islands as well, with most opting to make palaces and strongholds of marble and limestone. Black Dragon, the island with the largest complete castle, is said to be mystical. Nymethos, additionally, holds a palace being constructed with Tyroshi dyes in its concrete. Once it is completed, the world shall have its brightest castle.

The Lorathi builders are strongly venerated on all the islands, for they have led most of the construction, and most of the former slaves found work under their lead. However, many of the slaves have found a place among even the masters, as master constructors. A slave, known only as the Seeing One, has started a trend of building life sized cultures of the gods, and of the King and his court. Many of these, in fabulous beauty and a polished marble, have become popular at Wolfstone, so much that the King has requested to see the man responsible.

I have also noted an inescapable veneration for the King and his family. When I ask about the governors of the islands, one can hear many things. Most from Sandsnake report of uncaring rulers and on Steadfast of fools at the court, but everyone respects the King. To make my point as clear as possible, without showing my own bias, I give you an example of the people’s own veneration: they call the years before Jon, the Dead Times, and the time since his arrival as the Live Years.

The people happily and willingly followed his call when he ruled that a six hundred men from each island join the King’s Army. To them, his is the liberator, the law-bringer, and in some cases a god. Far Isle is where many of his best men are sent, but it is at Steelheart where men are taught. Jon declared that Steelheart serve as the training base for all of his future soldiers. Many former Unsullied, taken during the raid on Myr, work as instructors on the island, while former slaves and young bastards from Westeros form the bulk of the recruits. At Steelheart, they are required to pray to the War God. Even if they hold some other religion, they must follow the rituals set forth, including praying for the king’s health, mind, and the continued growth of the kingdom. Little is known about the War God, or if he even has a name. Nevertheless, the rituals succeed in finding their way in the minds of soldiers.

To be explain that no cult-like hysteria has overcome the people, I believe it is necessary to stress that the War God is not taken entirely seriously as a deity, but more as an idea, an extension of the King. When you bless the War God, and promise to fight, you promise to fight for the King. It is unlike the other real religions, of which there are many, from the Seven, the Drowned God, the Lady Rhoyne at the Maid, the Lady of Tears and the Lord of Butterflies.

In that the Kingdom functions at all is a testament to cleverness and blessings of the gods. Rather, instead, the Kingdom flourishes. The tragedy at Paradise had been subverted, when it was colonized by descendants of Naath, and Maid found itself welcomed by its new governor island in Sandsnake.

As I write, I am with a critical eye and an open mind. Soon, I shall take a trip to the East, to gather more information. Yet even as I write this, I am consumed with a need to say more, for Arianne has given birth to a daughter.


	5. Chapter 5

The Princess of the Stepstones, the first child of King Jon Snow and Queen Arianne Martell, was born in the last moon. Livia, a girl of darken thin, dark hair, and an otherwise kind disposition, was born on Nymethos, finding a small tiara quickly placed on her head, the only heir to a new a kingdom.

All the Kingdom felt a need to celebrate the Princess’s birth, donating a bit of gold or coin from their own person to declare their loyalty to the new heir. Even the homeliest found time to give what they had to a large donation at the princess’s bedside. The princess and her mother remain at Nymethos, while the King has likely reached the ports and greeted his young daughter.

As with other maesters, I have been consumed both with analyzing the workings of the kingdom and ensuring many of its elements continuing functioning. However, given the unusual contrite nature of the townspeople, my attention has been distracted. I hoped to count the shipments coming into the Wolfstone in the past year, only to find a merchant praying for the princess’s health. It took several minutes for him to leave his stalls and see me on the docks.

I can only assume that the effect King Jon and his reign has had on the people has been so great that he and his progeniture are seen as saviors. I wonder, if I were born to a godsforesaken place like the Stepstones in the Dead Times, how I would react to life in the Live Years. It is quasi-religious, how people act. Even those that follow the Seven, or the occasional Northern immigrant that prays to the Old Gods, wish the King continued success.

Nevertheless, and despite how contrite the people are, I am a maester, and my critical eye is trained to find the difficulties and problems in a kingdom.

The first being the unprepared and overwhelming amount of gold flowing into the Kingdom. From the sackings of the three surrounding cities, as well as the continued trade between Essos and Westeros, and between upper Essos and lower Essos, gold has made its way into the coffers of new banks and safes unprepared for the amount of wealth. Most wealth goes toward builders and the crown, through a deliberate tax, while merchants enjoy more success than they have likely ever experienced.

Dorne has been continually ridiculed for its poor and ineffectual trading ports. My only trip to Planky Town proved such criticisms valid. However, now there is an intermediate power that proves far more effective and beautiful. At the Stepstones, each island is set and prepared with well-structured trading ports. I would argue that it is the most important facet to the kingdoms. King Jon ordered that complex and secured ports be built at every island. At Seasnake, it is said that ships travel at a constant pace between the Stormlands and the island. Here at Wolfstone, I have seen ships arrive and leave with a pace unmatched in the realm.

The Seven Kingdoms, which once found in the Stepstones only slavers and pirates, have now found friends and comrades, ready traders and safe ports. The same goes for the Lysene, Myrith, Tyroshi, Norvosi, Volantene and Braavosi traders, who enjoy more security than they have ever had. I spoke with a Volantene trader, who mentioned how angry the triarchs were about King Jon freeing the slaves. He said, though, that because the Stepstones’ ports were so safe and quick, that they were perfectly fine dealing with him. It was just too economically profitable to leave him be.

The ports are, like most structures here, made mostly of stone rather than wood. While many elder traders find the King’s hatred of wood structures restrictive at the least, and slow at best, the effect is hard to deny. Having a large able-bodied population, the Stepstones were able to construct wide and open ports in limestone and white concrete. Wooden docks exist on the outskirts, where smaller ships and young sailors are often seen. I invite my fellow maesters to see the ports. As opposed to the ports of King’s Landing or Storm’s End, they are wide and secure, with guards at the ready, every second of every day. I wish to discuss my observations of the guards and soldiers, for they are a sight to see, but I have noticed that my work has been criticized by several maesters, and one archmaester specifically, for lacking organization. Allow me then to organize the rest of this letter to speak about the greater aspects of the Kingdom of the Stepstones.

I shall discuss the following topics on separate documents, to be organized by the first acolyte ready for the task:

Flora and fauna

Culture, laws, and people

Military

Arts

History

Famous Ones

Religion

The King

The Queen

 

**Nature**

The wildlife of the lands has proved both a challenge and a benefit. The aurochs and horses brought to most every island have proved beneficial. Sand steeds are the primary horses on the upper islands, while some hybrids of regular horses and sand steeds have been bred on Nymethos. Obara Sand named the breed Nymerian steeds.

The natives find the aurochs a dumb and annoying animal. This is the overall impression I have gathered through interviews. However, their meat and overall slow-witted nature have made them useful. It was more than heartfelt to hear an orphan speak of how happy he was to eat meat for the first time. I predict that they will adjust to herding the new beasts.

The local life, however, has been considerably resistant to the migrations of new peoples and species. Lizard-lions were an unexpected find many of migrants at the Stepstones. Many maesters have been caught off guard, as their existence had never been recorded. It seems that many were killed in a fury in the first years of the kingdom. I gather that the lizard-lions still remains a threat on New Paps, the tacit wildlife reserve among the islands.

The dreaded Blue Viper is a snake of extreme concern at a few of the islands. A colleague of mine, a recently-chained maester named Heuron, has taken to examining dead Blue Vipers. He has told me that their venom is as deadly as the Tears of Lys, sending victims into a shock. After they are paralyzed, they feel chills, then vomit until their neck constricts. From his findings, as well as from local tales, I have put together that the Blue Viper is rare, seen mostly at New Paps and Bronson.

Many of the fruits and vegetables brought from the Reach have been attacked by local funguses and diseases. Apples and grains were killed by a blight one a single fortnight at Wolfstone, for example. This has resulted in a mandate from the king to kill any infected plants and plant as many healthy ones as possible. As of now, I can only find peas, strawberries, grapes, and broccoli as viable plants, for they have survived against every natural disease. A traveler informed by that there is an abundance of grapevines and lemon trees at Nymethos, because the Queen desired for her island to remind her of the Greenblood.

While most of fauna is similar to that found in Westeros, the ecologically diversity remains both a treat for new travelers and a curiosity. I will endeavor to complete my analysis of the plants.

Interestingly, the Little Valyrian Lemurs on Wolfstone have bred to a point that they often wander outside of the forest into the towns and cities. They are a harmless bunch, attractive and sweet, and they are occasional thieves of the fruit in a traveler’s hands. The decision to rename Wolfstone to Lemurstone remains to be seen.

Whale Island is home to several Ibbenese and Westerosi whalers. The island has two massive gulfs, on either side, where whales stop and breed. The local ruler of the island bartered with the King to decide how its economy would function. In return for never pillaging the land and being moderate in whaling, the Weirwood Crown could trade whale oil as it pleased.

The ecosystems on the islands range from more desert-like to complete forests. I believe it changes as one goes south and west. The upper east corner of the kingdom is drying, while the west and south is greener. Saanland and Nymethos are often described as greenlands, Paradise as a land of rolling green hills and rivers, Steelheart as a land of caves and grassy crevices and waterfalls, while New Paps is an utter forest, completely detached from civilization. Wolfstone and Sandstane are more barren, while Sea Snake is mostly a woodland. The rest appear as average lands, with ecosystems comparable to the Stormlands.

 

**Culture, laws, and people**

Before the King’s conquest, the Stepstones were a pit of slavery, debauchery, and pirates, unsecure even for the richest traders, and prone to upstarts calling themselves kings and killing innumerable amounts of people. Life was short, so few were ever born here. Religion was the least of men’s concerns, and seems to only have been important to the slaves and the Lyseni traders. The slaves worshipped whichever gods they had before they were brought to the islands. The Lyseni worshipped the Lady of Tears.

The change is visible, not only in the gaits of the common people, but in the fever of their rituals. The majority of the local population were slaves. The rest traders, and most of them were slavers. The King ruled slavery illegal and had every slavery arrested. They were then put on trials for the many crimes they committed against men and innocent maidens. At the trials, each slaver was branded either a brute, a fool, or an unnatural man. They were insulted throughout the trials, and continually put through humiliating practices to maintain their lives. They were eventually made to stand naked, pleading forgiveness from those they had enslaved. A former slave, known as the Just One, had some put to the death, while all others were forced to undergo reform processes, if they were kind in their previous lives. Mathematics tells me that there should be a noticeable population of former slavers on the islands, yet I have not heard of one. I surmise that it is unpopular to have been a slaver of men.

The population, as I have previously stated, is a mixed one. Made up of both Westerosi and Essosi, the Kingdom is as every bit as diverse as Braavos. After the King invited orphans from King’s Landing with him, more Westerosi came. A census was taken, denoting a figure of about sixty-thousand, a marked difference from the previous years. Essosi migrants make up nearly 45% of the population.

Freeborn children are a relatively new phenomenon here. Both the security of the kingdom and the King’s laws have worked toward this end.

While there have always been traders, instances of other forms of work had previously been rare. It is impressive how quickly many of the local and migrants found work in new fields. Bastards and poor souls who found their way here quickly found work in next to every field they desired. I believe the majority have been trained in their crafts by older migrants. Fishermen, farmers, lense crafters, candle makers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, and masons from all over the world find ready and eager pupils at the Stepstones. King Jon offered them lands and titles should they decide to come and live at one of the islands.

The Westerosi calendar and weight system were brought to the islands and made official by the King. However, there is no requirement for most other facets of our laws. The First Night exists in some fashion, but seems limited to only few island governors under an oddly religious condition. Thankfully, the Rule of Seven does not exist. The benefit is obvious and likely the reason for the pious nature of many of the women. Thievery is not punished with the removal of fingers, but instead a petty criminal is made to work a menial job until he has been deemed “judged.” Murder is punished with death, and few are ever given long prison sentences. A Lorathi builder close to the King told me that the King loathed the crypts under the Red Keep, where prisoners were kept starved for days upon days.

Mayhaps the most interesting quality is the nature of Stepstone women. Where a Westerosi woman can nag and complain, cheat and lie, many of the women here are pious and obedient to their husbands. They carry on normally, but without the arrogance and petty smiles of tempting maidens. They raise their children lovingly and clothe themselves in long dresses. They value the idea of the Mother more than the Maiden or Crone. Older women are valued in their knowledge of child rearing and herbal medicine. Many women work alongside their husbands, sons, or brothers. I have noticed a trait among the working women: they carry upon their head a basket or vase. This is simply a curiosity. Generally, the primary worshippers of the gods are women. One can see them most often at temples and sacred areas. There is also the habit among many women to have a necklace of either male genitalia (indicating that they pray for a child) or a marble figure of Lady of Tears (indicating that they are pregnant or wishing for the health of their children). This practice seems to have existed in some land elsewhere before it became popular. Given the goddess in question, I believe it originated at Lys and grew in popularity at all the Stepstones. Prostitution certainly exists; It would be unintelligent to believe it ever would not. However, the whores here are far less willing to reveal themselves or behave wantonly as they do at King’s Landing or Storm’s End. Few women carry swords, but those that do remain mostly on the eastern half of the Stepstones. Luckily, though, the King instituted a mandate on female warriors. They must not only forego traditional heavy armor, but keep their hair shorter than their shoulders. They are also required to promise their maidenhead to strong, worthy commanders. Thus, it is not entirely improper to have female warriors. Even they embody the idea of the proper, pious mother.

The people are proud, and remember their history. They value former slaves, and in their culture is the idea of the abused and misused slave. In their artworks, which I will discuss next, are the figures of the slave with unused potential and the slave liberated. These concepts run deep in the kingdom. Just as they mocked their former masters at the trials, they mock the idea of slavery in their culture. They consider their past a time of misuse and stupidity. Simply ask a former slave of his past, and you will hear not of abuse and whips, but of the stupidity of the man that called him master, of the misuse of their talents. I believe one example can explain the feeling. A great mason at Wolfstone takes pride in building the inner sanctum of the castle, and he complains often about his past as a slave on a pirate ship.

 

**Military**

The King’s orders that every island must give one-sixth of their men to the military has had a good effect on moral and ensured continued security. At Steelheart, men are trained in a variety of forms of battle, though at the end they may choose which weapon will be their primary weapon. So long as there is not a shortage of men in a field, they are given exceedingly more choice than soldiers in Westeros, who must go wherever their lords order. The mix of cultures is evident in the battle tactics the kingdom employs. The few Unsullied rescued from Myr and the many Dornish immigrants bring short blades and spears, the more Northern Westerosi use swords, and several of the liberated slaves from Tyrosh have been known to use warhammers.

The rankings of the military differ slightly from those we see in Westeros. The King believes that leaving high lords, who are often unprepared boys simply born to the position, in charge of soldiers, a dangerous and ineffective strategy for winning battles. Instead, the governors of the islands and its lords are often set apart from military concerns. The king may appoint a general rather than allowing a governor to lead his own army. Several islands, such as Paradise, Nymethos, and New Paps have appointed generals. While governors may lead their own forces, it is necessary for them to have previous military experience in a lower position. The idea is that working under another leader imbues one not only with experience but with the capacity to have a new, informed insight into war.

The positions of the military are more familiar. A police force known as Red Cloaks patrol Wolfstone, and each island has its own peace-keeping guard. I am informed from several here that on Nymethos, the guards wear purple cloth wrappings around their chests. I once heard from a local Reach bastard that on Black Dragon, the guards wear the old Blackfyre sigil on their armor; his tone indicated particular disgust with the idea. On Sandsnake, where they follow a more Dornish model, the guards where the traditional head wrappings and carry spears.

 

**Arts**

Given the diversity of cultures at the Stepstones, the arts are equally diverse. Rugs of multiple colors and geometric patterns are made at Nymethos and the Maid. Men wear clothes of varying styles, while women wear dresses of varying colors, though at Wolfstone I see mostly peasant women in muted colors. Several excited local traders have told me that the women of the Maid are exceedingly beautiful and wear several layers of silks.

Many men and women from Tyrosh keep the practice of dyeing their hair in vibrant colors. However, the majority of the population, those being Westerosi men, consider it overly effeminate and strange. Thus the Tyroshi immigrants have taken to dying only the ends of their hair, so as not to offend the dominant culture on the islands.

Pots and plates are painted in vibrant colors. However, this practice seems to only be present in few families. I surmise that, because former slaves came from islands like Tyrosh and Myr, that they brought such styles with them, while many of the previously established people, those being men from Westeros, prefer stark styles.

Castles, as I have formerly stated, are of various types. But because blackstone forts exist on most of the islands, there is a less pressing need for buttresses and other defenses facets of castles. Nevertheless, many cannot abandon what they know, and they include large defense towers and walkways on castle tops. The Great Castle on Wolfstone is years away from being completed. Sandsnake has not one but seven small castles in the Rhoynish style. Saanland has the imaginatively-named Castle Saan, in the overly complex Lysene style. A Lorathi builder, the same confidant of the King, has informed me that Queenshold on Nymethos is near completion. It appears like a painting in the sky, having bricks of varying colors. Several peasant children carved intricate and small designs (animals and geometric forms) along the base of the walls. As one who was once traveler to the great tower of the Red God at Volantis, I imagine the two structures look similar.

I predict that there will be merging of many of these art styles in the near future, once the memory of who was and who wasn’t a slave has disappeared from the collective consciousness.

However, the grandest art form on the Stepstones is one native to the island of Seasnake. At this point I must inform my colleagues that I confused the two former slaves, the Brilliant One and the Seeing One. The Seeing One is the slave who found that Myr was attempting to sow discord in the kingdom. The Brilliant One is the artist who has made life-like marble sculptures of the King and his governors. He was brought before the king and instructed to continue creating his statues. They are a sight to behold. Having a keen eye on both anatomical positions and human expressions, the Brilliant One has made statues of several scenes in the Stepstones’ history and some of the gods. At the King’s palace, one can see a large statue of King Jon killing a slaver, stepping on the man’s chest and holding his sword in the air, as a young slave is in the background, waiting to be freed. It is called The Liberation. Another one is of King Jon wearing the cloth of a priest, holding a scroll in one hand, the other in the air. It is called The King, as a Hero. There are several more works of less important scenes and figures, like busts of Asha Greyjoy and Bron. However, of particular note are the statues of Queen Arianne with Child and the War God with the Lady. I can say without a doubt that the statue of the Queen is the most beautiful thing made by human hands. It depicts the queen in all her beauty, but not as the seductress she is often portrayed as. She wears a thing dress, one that gives only a hint to her thick thighs and backside, on her face is an expression of patient curiosity, her long, thick hair goes down to her lower back, and in her arms is the princess Livia. The War God with Lady gives a hint of the merging of cultures in the kingdoms. In this work, the war god, a man with a slight beard and strong build, holds a sad woman in his arm. It is as if he is saying “I have protected you; no need to be afraid anymore.”

I have seen several traders outside the kingdom eye these sculptures with jealousy. I predict that theft or attempts at theft are coming.

 

**History**

The way that history is viewed in the kingdom is interesting. We maesters have been the primary dictators of the field, but even before I arrived there was an oral history.

Daemon Targaryen, the first king of the Stepstones, has been allocated among the other former claimants. His disregard for the people is remembered. Indeed, King Jon even had to state openly that he is the blood of Daemon, not his successor.

The people had little to know care for their past rulers. They were not only ineffective, but also maintained slavery.

However, after the Dead Times, came about the Liberation. The King is seen as a moralistic, strong, and godsent force. The Conquest of the Stepstones is less a conquest for them than it is a rescue. One of the former slaves has told me that, before the Live Years, he was content to consider himself a native of Lys, even though Lys enslaved him. Now, though, he and most others are insistent that they are Stepstone men.

 

**Famous Ones**

Again, the former slaves do not speak often on their torment. Instead, they see their past as a waste of potential. At the Stepstones, men are valued not by station, like they are in Westeros. Instead, they value individuals who have mastered their talents. There is no better example of this than in the notoriety of the Famous Ones.

This is a term I have chosen, for there appears to be a trend of notable “Ones” among the former slave population. They are masterminds in their fields. They come from different parts of Kingdom. The Brilliant One is the sculptor, now in personal employ of the King. The Seeing One is a prophet and advisor at Black Dragon. The Just One has enforced many of the King’s laws, and he travels between the islands as the King’s representative. The Strong One lives on Far Isle, with the majority of the veterans.

I am unsure why they are famous for their titles instead of their actual names. The naming habit appears a somewhat Lorathi trait, but there are too few Lorathi men at the Stepstones. I will try to find the origin of this.

I have yet to hear of the existence of a Libidinous One, despite the claims of many maesters.

 

**Religion**

I have spoken previously about religions on the islands. They are diverse and freely practiced. I shan’t discuss it further.

However, I do believe it notable how the War God is blending into the other religions. He is not a different, opposing god, but one that fits within old religions in a unique form. For instance, a practice of the Seven finds that the War God a different form of the Warrior. The War God is always considered the husband of the Weeping Lady of Lys.

Additionally, I am compelled to mention that the Lady is important to all women in the kingdom. She is the patron goddess of women of the Stepstones, a figure of motherhood, honor, and copulation.

 

**The Queen**

I previously described the Queen as a full-hipped, thin-waisted, thick-thighed, large-breasted, dark-eyed, dark-haired, dark-skinned, dark-tipped beauty who wore too-revealing dresses. It is well known how much of a temptress Queen Arianne was in her early years, and I wrote from that perspective. While many of my words were accurate, there has been a change in the recent years.

First I must take the time to apologize for using such imagery of the Queen in a negative light. She was never the figure portrayed by Archmaester Theobald, not a force of immorality on the islands. She did not influence the King to commit any action. The King is far too intelligent to be wooed by a women’s charms, and the Queen is not foolish enough to try to influence her husband. In fact, rather than being an influencer of negativity, the Queen has been a model for the women of the Kingdom.

She is beautiful, motherly, witty, and loyal to her husband. She does not speak out of turn, lest the King discipline her openly. Such is the image she gives to wives on the islands (It is obvious why the Rule of Seven does not exist here; it would prevent a wife from understanding her husband’s wisdom, if she was resistant after the seventh strike).

Her love of the Princess is also venerated. I propose that Queen Arianne’s dedication to her daughters welfare will inspire others to be as caring. One can already see it in the many mothers of Wolfstone. I saw a group of Lysene mothers a day ago. They carried their purple-eyed, dark haired babes like they were made of glass, so tenderly, so lovingly.

I believe the Queen has become far more proper in the last few years. She is still shockingly beautiful, but more appropriately in showing her gifts only to her husband. The King has been harsh with her, and as a result she has become ever more respectable and pious.


End file.
